Hoping to curate the best local news from other media outlets, I’ve been squirrelling away news items for weeks, never quite knowing when this website would go live. Rather than toss them, I figured it might be useful to post a roundup (or two, or three) of yesterday’s news. In no particular order:
••• “Montecito Creek Bridge, Damaged in 2018 Debris Flow, Expected to Re-open in September.” That’s the one on State Route 192 between Parra Grande Lane and Sycamore Canyon Road. (Above image courtesy Caltrans District 5.) —Noozhawk
••• Common sense prevails: “The controversial neon sign hanging on a side wall at the Institution Ale brewery in Santa Barbara can stay. The Historic Landmarks Commission voted 5-2 […] to allow the sign, despite the fact that it conflicts with the city’s Sign Ordinance.” —Noozhawk
••• “UC Santa Barbara’s Benioff Ocean Initiative is partnering with NOAA scientists and others to launch a sound system in the Santa Barbara Channel that aims to reduce collisions between whales and ships.” —Los Angeles Times
••• “The Santa Barbara Planning Commission wasn’t pleased with Santa Barbara developer Ed St. George’s proposed new three-story hotel on West Montecito Street. The commission vote to deny the project last week was 5-1 [….] Commissioners denied plans to build a hotel, a coffee shop with an outdoor patio, a parking garage and a rooftop deck on the northwest corner of West Montecito and Bath streets. The 30,830-square-foot building was proposed for two lots at 302 and 308 W. Montecito St., across from The Neighborhood Bar & Grill, a carwash and other commercial purposes. […] Members of the Planning Commission voiced concerns about the large size of the hotel rooms, the project’s overall size, neighborhood compatibility, and the potential for the hotel development to be turned into student housing in the future.” —Noozhawk
••• “Bob Hazard, associate editor of the Montecito Journal and past president of the Birnam Wood Golf Club, has finally speared a big fish in his campaign for a community services district in the affluent community: County Supervisor Das Williams. At Hazard’s urging, Williams has agreed to convene and chair a meeting with Montecito’s special districts to discuss the pros and cons of a possible merger. Hazard favors consolidating only water and wastewater services, but both men believe that a community services district also could raise funds for Montecito’s library and trails network, and the ring nets and debris basins on local creeks – depending on what residents are willing to pay for.” —Edhat
••• “As part of a new recycling program, residents can drop off expanded polystyrene, commonly known as Styrofoam, for free at two sites on Santa Barbara County’s South Coast,” one in Santa Barbara and one in Goleta. —Noozhawk
••• A Montecito Journal article on the allegedly poor state of several Montecito roads says many are due to be repaired in the next year or two. And if you want to complain about one, you can call the Santa Barbara Public Works Department at 805-681-5678.
••• “While the Santa Barbara Central Library’s plaza renovation project is moving forward, it has yet to receive approval from the Historic Landmarks Commission, which reviewed it again last week. The project envisions changes to the outdoor plaza space near the 40 E. Anapamu St. entrance to the downtown library in order to create a space for events and programming.” —Noozhawk
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